If there's one thing most people consider the Web to be, it's free. Not just for speech, but of charge (outside of that mammoth monthly ISP bill). But that doesn't always hold true for Web appsthose online-only applications you access from the Web browser. Most of them have a free option, but in order to be truly useful, many have a cost associated with them. Typically, this is in the form of a monthly subscription or an annual fee.

We've got a lot of those "freemium" services here amid this collection of 180 useful, Web-only apps because, well, they're too good not to include. In a 'free starter package,' you get usability and a thorough introduction to a product that you might not otherwise ever tryand some of them you may never have to upgrade, as the free tools are good enough. But among the 180, you'll find 72 products marked with a seal to indicate they are utterly and totally free. As in, they have no cost at all. No premium versions, no extras needed. (OK, so you may need to create an account with the company that provides the service, but "free" is a relative term, kids.)

We're talking full office suites, complete image and video editors, small biz collaboration tools, readers of books and RSS feeds, backup services email clients, Internet radio, and more. There are 26 categories of Web apps to choose from in this story.

One thing they have in common, for the most part, is that you don't need to download or install anything. There are a few minor exceptions, and we'll assume you have Flash installed in some cases. Otherwise, with this collection and a Web browserwe like Google Chrome 23 bestyou're ready to get as many free and useful tools as anyone with a hard drive full of expensive, installed commercial applications. You may even be more productive. So what are you waiting for? Click away.

Eric narrowly averted a career in food service when he began in tech publishing at Ziff-Davis over 20 years ago. He was on the founding staff of Windows Sources, FamilyPC, and Access Internet Magazine (all defunct, and it's not his fault). He's the author of two novels, BETA TEST ("an unusually lighthearted apocalyptic tale"--Publishers' Weekly) and KALI: THE GHOSTING OF SEPULCHER BAY. He works from his home in Ithaca, NY.
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